PS4 Release Date Tips for Buyers

The PS4 release date is later tonight for most buyers who ordered for in store pickup at a Best Buy or other midnight launch retail location, and sometime Friday November 15th for those who ordered online.

We’re excited to see that Amazon is shipping the PlayStation 4 as you read this and we’ve rounded up tips to get the best PS4 release date experience. You can surely manage picking up a PS4, but if you want to get your PS4 before the 8 PM UPS delivery time, avoid accessories that won’t deliver the full experience and pick up a PS4 without a pre-order you better keep reading.

The PS4 release date is Friday November 15th, and will start at 12:01 AM at many locations. Before you head out, keep in mind not every store will open late or early for a PS4 release.

PS4 Midnight Opening List

Here’s a quick roundup of when most stores will start selling the PS4 on release day. Many retailers are opening at midnight, which means a full 8 hours of playing before you work or school intrudes.

Best Buy – 12:01Am

Walmart – 12:01AM

GameStop – 12:01AM

Target – 8 AM

Many of these stores will allow shoppers in early but cannot ring the PS4 out until 12:01 AM on Friday morning, so you’ll be in for a wait.

Many Best Buy stores will open at midnight for the PS4 release date, offering some units to users who did not pre-order.

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Arrive Early

Best Buy will start processing PS4 pre-orders 2 hours before the midnight PS4 release, so you will want to arrive early even with a pre-order. If you pre-ordered a PS4 for in-store pickup you will need a government photo ID, the credit or debit card used for the order and your order number. You need to go to the Best Buy you ordered at, not just any Best Buy. If you can’t make the midnight opening, the PS4 will be held for 8 days after.

Other retailers will offer similar deals, while there is no need to be first in line if you have a pre-order, the closer you are to the front the faster you will get our of there and on your way home to connect your PS4 and play.

GameStop will open up at 6 PM for the midnight launch, taking in your trade-ins and processing the transaction so they can hand you a receipt and your PS4 at midnight without dealing with holdups such as payments and more.

At Walmart you will likely need to go to the electronics counter, but check with an employee before you set up shop.

Midnight Release is a Best Bet Without a Pre-Order

If you did not pre-order the PS4 and you need one for a Christmas gift or just want one before 2014, going to a midnight PS4 release is going to be the best chance to get a PS4.

GameStop, Best Buy and Walmart will reportedly have additional stock on hand for users who did not pre-order the PS4 and if you are in NYC, The Standard, High Line hotel in New York City will include 444 PS4 consoles for sale at midnight.

If you fail to get a PS4 at midnight there are two additional options to consider. First off GameStop’s leaked Black Friday ad shows the PS4 as a doorbuster with a minimum of 8 units in stock at each store.

If that fails, check Best Buy eight days after Friday, in case someone didn’t pick up a pre-order and it goes back to general stock.

Long Lines

If you can’t tell already the PS4 release is going to be a big deal. With console launches coming almost once a decade, look for long lines at the retailers holding midnight openings.

Thankfully it looks like most stores are embracing the PS4 release with in store activities. Walmart is open 24 hours, Best Buy told a Gotta Be Mobile writer he can come in the store at 9:30 for the Xbox One release, which we expect will be the same for the PS4 release date. And GameStop’s six hours of PS4 release fun should also happen in the store.

Still, bring some food, something to drink and some friends even if they aren’t ordering. If you need to make friends in line order a few pizzas for delivery.

Plenty of Games

There are a number of PS4 game deals that are constraining supplies on Amazon and at Target, but overall there shouldn’t be a shortage of games for the PS4. Amazon’s PS4 game deal left Need For Speed Rivals backordered until December for many shoppers, but don’t expect this to be an issue at GameStop, Best Buy or Walmart.

Don’t expect PS4 game shortages.

Flower

Killzone Shadow Fall

Knack

Resogun

Sound Shapes

Angry Birds Star Wars

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag

Call of Duty Ghosts

DC Universe Online

FIFA 14

Battlefield 4

Just Dance 2014

Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition

Lego Marvel Super Heroes

Madden NFL 25

NBA 2K14

Need For Speed Rivals

Skylanders SWAP Force

Some of these games are available only on the PlayStation Store, so be sure to check there after you get eh PS4 set up and home.

Only Some PS4 Accessories

It may be tough to find PS4 accessories outside of the PlayStation Camera and DualShock 4 controller, but there are some to be found. If you are looking for a third-party headset to use with the PS4, choose carefully. The Bluetooth connection that worked with the PS3 will not work so you will need a cable for chat.

PS4 accessories will be available, but not all headsets will work, so check before you buy.

USB headsets will work, and users can plug-in a headset to the 3.5mm jack on the controller for chat and game audio. Check the Turtle Beach Console Compatibility page to see how your existing headset might work and whether or not it needs and update.

Get Faster UPS Delivery with a Pickup

If you ordered a PS4 from Amazon you should have a UPS tracking number by now, or you will very soon. Unfortunately Amazon only promises delivery by 8PM on PS4 release day. If you are taking the day off or just want to get your console earlier you can use the UPS My Choice service to hold it at a local UPS Customer Center for pickup after 8:30 AM.

Arrange for an early pickup on the PS4 release date.

If you haven’t already signed up for this service you can try to sign up right now or reach out directly to @UPSHelp on Twitter. Search to find out if there is a UPS Customer Center nearby before using this step.

Keep in mind that some Customer Centers are only open at specific times, which may not be as early as 8:30 AM, so look at that before making the change. Some locations are only open for pickup in the afternoon and evening.

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The hold for Will Call option should keep the PS4 at your local UPS Customer Center for pickup. Keep in mind, anytime you mess with a delivery there is a chance something will go wrong, so if you do this, be flexible if there is a slight delay in picking up your package. You will need to do this before the delivery truck leaves for the morning so plan to do it today soon after you get your PS4 tracking number.

True that, no shortage of awful games for a rushed console. Gonna wait till next year when Kingdom Hearts III, Dying Light, Guilty Gear, and Deep Down come out for it– because until then, this list of games is garbage, and you’re all fools for buying it when there’s only mediocre games for it on launch. (And everyone’s beaten Flower, doh!)

Hoping I’m lucky enough to snag one, no pre-order, just tryin my luck waiting in line at Best Buy in a few hours, hopefully one thing working in my favor is I’m in the Seattle/Bellevue, WA area, technically Microsoft and Nintendo country, so hopefully me being in the (somewhat) Sony loyalist minority can help me snag one, because I’m sure XBone is going to receive the most press in my neck of the woods;P